In a world of iPhones and iPads, iPods nevertheless continue to have a place at Apple, and Wednesday's update of the iPod touch -- plus new colors for the Nano and Shuffle -- raise the question of which iPod, if any, a person should buy.

All three devices in Apple's existing iPod lineup -- the iPod nano, shuffle and touch -- gained three new color options on Wednesday. And while the iPod touch's internal components were overhauled, the iPod nano and shuffle specifications remain unchanged.

Shipping times for some iPod models -- mostly for the iPod touch -- have lengthened at Apple's U.S. online store ahead of an anticipated refresh on Tuesday, during which Apple is expected to add new colors and upgrade the Touch's internals.

Apple is expected to launch an updated iPod touch next week, a refresh that is likely to bring new colors and updated internals that reportedly include a move to a more recent 64-bit A-series application processor.

The week's news was dominated by the launch of Apple Music and Beats 1 on Tuesday, but other developments percolated under the surface -- including Apple losing its last appeal of a long-fought e-book antitrust case.

An update to Apple's dwindling iPod lineup is indeed in the works, Apple's own iTunes software appears to indicate, thanks to graphics showing gold versions of the iPod touch, nano and shuffle, along with new shades of blue and pink.

With Apple widely expected to launch a new, larger iPhone model this year, a new report claims the external design will take numerous cues from the company's mid-range iPhone 5c, as well as its seventh-generation iPod nano.

For the dwindling segment of consumers who are either not interested in having an app ecosystem on their music player or for whom raw capacity is the paramount concern, the iPod remains the overwhelming favorite, according to new data provided to AppleInsider.

This year's flagship iPhone will no longer come in black and slate, as Apple has instead switched to a lighter shade dubbed "space gray." The same color option is also now available on the iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle.

Apple's annual "MFi" conference is currently underway in Shenzhen, China, where the company has informed third-party accessory makers that they will need to meet its supplier code of conduct to sell officially licensed products.

Apple's latest iPod nano has been pulled apart to reveal a number of anonymous, Apple-branded chips, though NAND flash from Toshiba and a Bluetooth chip with FM radio from Broadcom could be identified.

Apple's new seventh generation iPod nano changes the model's direction from being a square, wearable, audio-only faux-iOS device to being a sort of mini iPod touch, but lacking any cameras, mic, WiFi or apps beyond the typical iPod features bundled with it.